Bicycle Safety Month!
May is bicycle safety month. According to NHTSA, Americans are increasingly riding bikes to commute, for exercise, or just for fun. By law, bicycles on the roadway are vehicles with the same rights and responsibilities as motorized vehicles. Here are a few tips to ensure a safe ride:
Helmets
Every bike ride begins with putting on a helmet. But it’s equally important that you ensure a proper fit so your helmet can best protect you. There are many online videos that can assist with making sure your helmet fits properly.
Avoid Crashes
There are two main types of crashes: the most common (falls), and the most serious (the ones with cars). Regardless of the reason for the crash, prevention is the name of the game.
Be Prepared Before Heading Out
Ride a bike that fits you—if it’s too big, it’s harder to control the bike.
Ride a bike that works—it really doesn’t matter how well you ride if the brakes don’t work.
Wear equipment to protect you and make you more visible to others, like a bike helmet, bright clothing (during the day), reflective gear, and a white front light and red rear light and reflectors on your bike (at night, or when visibility is poor).
Ride one per seat, with both hands on the handlebars, unless signaling a turn.
Carry all items in a backpack or strapped to the back of the bike.
Tuck and tie your shoe laces and pant legs so they don’t get caught in your bike chain.
Plan your route—if driving as a vehicle on the road, choose routes with less traffic and slower speeds. Your safest route may be away from traffic altogether, in a bike lane or on a bike path.
Drive Defensively- Focused and Alert
Be focused and alert to the road and all traffic around you; anticipate what others may do, before they do it. This is defensive driving—the quicker you notice a potential conflict, the quicker you can act to avoid a potential crash:
Drive with the flow, in the same direction as traffic.
Obey street signs, signals, and road markings, just like a car.
Assume the other person doesn’t see you; look ahead for hazards or situations to avoid that may cause you to fall, like toys, pebbles, potholes, grates, train tracks.
No texting, listening to music or using anything that distracts you by taking your eyes and ears or your mind off the road and traffic.
Drive Predictably
By driving predictably, motorists get a sense of what you intend to do and can react to avoid a crash.
Drive where you are expected to be seen, travel in the same direction as traffic and signal and look over your shoulder before changing lane position or turning.
By following these simple tips you will have a safe and fun ride. Enjoy!